Expert's Corner: A Window into Old Hollywood

by Thomas Gladysz
The Booksmith in San Francisco, CA

I love old movies. The stars,the stories, the settings -- there is something about early film that appeals to the romantic side of me. Sitting in a theater, spellbound in darkness, I become immersed in another world, another time.

I also love reading about old Hollywood. Some of my favorite books are biographies, such as Arthur Lennig's Stroheim (from the University Press of Kentucky), about director Erich von Stroheim. Perhaps best remembered for his acting roles in "La Grand Illusion" and "Sunset Boulevard" (he played the grim butler), Stroheim came to prominence in the 1920s by writing, acting in, or directing -- or sometimes all three -- such classics as "The Merry Widow," "Foolish Wives," and "The Wedding March."

Stroheim was a colorful character. He was also a genius, known for his uncompromising perfectionism, eye for opulence (at times bordering on decadence), and a stubbornness that helped derail his career. He intended to film Frank Norris' epic novel, McTeague, page for page. The studio cut the resulting film, "Greed," from more than eight hours to two -- a truncated version that is still considered a classic today.

Like Orson Welles -- their careers followed a similar sad trajectory -- Stroheim was a multi-talented, larger-than-life personality who refused to compromise his ideals. Lennig has done an admirable job in sifting through the legend; He uncovered many new facts, and has given readers what may be the definitive portrait of one of film's great directors.

The University Press of Kentucky has also published a wonderful memoir, called The Shocking Miss Pilgrim, by Frederica Sagor Maas -- a pioneering female screenwriter who knew Stroheim early on (and who just celebrated her 100th birthday on July 6).

The Shocking Miss Pilgrim describes how the young, ambitious Maas began her career in 1920, in the script department at Universal. Maas went on to write a handful of Norma Shearer and Clara Bow films, including the 1920s classic "The Plastic Age." (The title of the book itself comes from one of her later efforts, a popular Betty Grable vehicle of the same name.) At times writing for Paramount and MGM, Maas encountered and befriended the likes of Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, and Louis B. Mayer. An anecdote-laden insider's account, The Shocking Miss Pilgrim paints a fascinating picture of filmdom in its golden age.

Some 70 years after her career went into decline, Clara Bow -- known as the "IT" girl -- still has many fans: For example, Turner Classic Movies debuted a well-received and much-watched documentary on the actress just last year. And thankfully, Cooper Square Publishing has just reissued David Stenn's equally excellent biography, Clara Bow: Runnin' Wild. This well-written, sympathetic work tells the life story of the actress who, in the words of F. Scott Fitzgerald, "is the quintessence of what the term 'flapper' signifies . . . pretty, impudent, superbly assured, as worldly-wise, briefly-clad and 'hard-berled' as possible." If you missed this book when it was first issued in 1988, don't miss it now: This revised paperback edition contains a new filmography.

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